All-American Girl
by sdbubbles
Summary: One thing about Michael Spence will never change: his heart belongs to his sweet little, beautiful, wonderful, perfect all-American girl.


**A/N: This isn't my usual type of writing, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. This is the result: possibly the most pointless fic you will ever read. But there we go.**

**The song is "All-American Girl" by Carrie Underwood, whom I cannot get enough of right now.**

**Sarah x**

* * *

_Since the day they got married,  
He'd been praying for a little baby boy.  
Someone he could take fishing,  
Throw the football and be his pride and joy._

As he watched his beautiful wife go into labour, his heart leapt. This was it. He had been waiting for this since they'd got married, and he could almost see his son now. A charmer, just like his dad, getting all the girls and having all the breaks. They could go into the country when the city got too much, and fish for hours and hours.

A basketball hoop drilled into the wall of the house, perhaps. "Michael!" Annalese yelled at him. "Car. NOW!" she shouted, clearly in pain while he stood daydreaming next to her in the kitchen.

Oh, what he wouldn't give for a little boy, all for his own. The prospect of having a son was both frightening and exciting, and he was genuinely hoping for a son. He could almost hear a toddler's yells of, "Daddy!" as they passed each other a basketball or a football, or Michael lifting him to the hoop to score.

He helped Annalese into the car and started driving to the nearest hospital. He'd never been more hyped up in his life.

_He could already see him holding that trophy,_  
_Taking his team to state._  
_But when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket,_  
_All those big dreams changed._

Helping Annalese into a bed on the maternity ward, he thought of who his son would grow up to be. A sportsman. A basketball player, or an American football player, perhaps. Looking like the mirror image of his father.

After hours of watching Annalese in pain and thinking about the future of his child, it was all over, at long last. And the midwife handed Annalese the newborn and said with a smile, "It's a beautiful baby girl."

He'd never thought about a baby girl. He'd just assumed it would be a boy, actually. But when he looked into that little bundle and saw those deep brown eyes – unusual as they were for a newborn – the world stopped. The second he looked at her, he loved her more than anything in the universe.

This was his baby girl, and a whole load of new dreams came about. He could tell she was going to be one beautiful girl. He would bring her up to be hard-working, and he could see her going into technology. Or science. Medicine. A surgeon, maybe, just like her daddy. Or an anaesthetist, like her mother.

_And now he's wrapped around her finger,_  
_She's the centre of his whole world._  
_And his heart belongs to that_  
_Sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect all-American girl.  
_

He knew that moment that this girl would be nothing but a Daddy's-girl, through and through. He would probably spoil her rotten, but he would bring her up properly. He would teach her the value of hard work and compassion, and always remind her he loved her.

She was his everything now. "Jasmine," he whispered. Annalese looked at him curiously. "We should call her Jasmine. My mom used to grow beautiful jasmine flowers when I was a kid. It symbolises grace and modesty," he explained.

"Jasmine," Annalese repeated. "Jasmine Spence. That just sounds so perfect," she smiled.

He pressed his lips to his baby daughter's head and closed his eyes; his baby girl was going to grow up to be so beautiful.

_Sixteen short years later,  
She was falling for the senior football star.  
Before he knew it he was dropping passes,  
Skipping practice just to spend more time with her._

Sixteen years had passed since that day. Divorce, professional scandal, failed relationships, punching Ric, Hanssen saving his backside, multiple run-ins with multiple pains in his ass, Serena irritating him every single day at work, missing Frieda...through all of that, one thing remained constant: his love for his children.

So when he was Skyped from Florida just weeks after Jasmine's sixteenth birthday, the girl in tears, his heart almost broke in two. "Daddy," she sobbed. "I've done something really stupid."

"Come on," he smiled. "Nothing's that bad."

"There's a boy," she revealed. Oh, God. Boy trouble. "He's the captain of the school football team. And we're together," she explained, the American twang coming out in her voice from years of living there. "But he's been messing up his games and missing practice sessions so we can actually go out sometimes."

"Let me guess," Michael sighed. "His parents aren't pleased?" She nodded, and he could see the tears on the screen. He heard a voice call her over, and she replied by telling him she was speaking to her Daddy. "That him?" She nodded once more, so Michael told her, "Let me speak to him."

_The coach said, "Hey son, what's your problem?  
__Tell me, have you lost your mind?"  
Daddy said, "You'll lose your free ride to college,  
__Boy, you better tell her goodbye."_

The boy came to sit next Jasmine. "What's your name, kid?"

"Alex Shepard, sir," he responded, with the typical polite manner a boy showed his girlfriend's father.

"What's this all about, Alex?" he demanded.

"I really do love your daughter, Mr. Spence," he immediately insisted, and something about him put Michael's mind at ease. He seemed polite and nice, and he was genuine. He could tell by the way he had said he loved Jasmine that it was nothing but the truth. The way he pulled her into his side to comfort her while she was upset.

"What's the problem?"

"My coach and my dad want me to forget about her and focus on the football because it could get me a scholarship," he said. "But I can't just forget about Jasmine, and I definitely won't break up with her," he added. "She means everything to me."

"You and me both, kid, you and me both," he sighed. "Right, here's what you do. You tell your Dad and your coach that you're not leaving Jasmine, but you focus on school and especially on the football. The football is your way into college, which in this day and age, is something you're gonna need. Go to practice, and put all your effort into it, and accept you can't spend every waking minute together."

_But now he's wrapped around her finger,_  
_She's the centre of his whole world._  
_And his heart belongs to that_  
_Sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect, all-American...  
_

"Yes, sir," he replied.

"God, will you stop calling me that?!" Michael exclaimed. "My name is Michael." Alex looked taken aback by this request but nonetheless agreed. "Watch yourself," he advised. "Once she's got you, she's got you for life."

"Oh, she knows she's got me for life," Alex smiled back. "I love her. My dad thinks it's just some teenage phase, but I can actually see the rest of my life with her. I've had girlfriends before, and nothing ever felt like this," he promised to both Jasmine and her father.

"Well," Michael smirked. "If you hurt her, I will take a flight over there and kick your ass," he warned. He heard the door open and turned to find Sacha beckoning him silently. "I gotta go. Levy needs me," he explained. "Nice to meet you, Alex, and I'll speak to you both soon."

He left the computer with a certain sense of satisfaction. Jasmine had found a boy who adored her, and treated her with respect. She had him wrapped around her little finger and he wasn't going anywhere. Michael had heard the genuineness in the kid's voice. He was with her for as long as she wanted him, and by the way Jasmine was so upset with the situation, Michael would venture a guess that he would be around for a long, long time.

_And when they got married and decided to have one of their own,  
She said, "Be honest, tell me what do you want?"  
And he said, "Honey, you oughta know...  
__Sweet, little, beautiful...one just like you  
__Oh, a beautiful, wonderful, perfect, all-American..."_

Another seven years passed; Jasmine had went through college with a degree in journalism at the other end, Alex was in football, Michael was _still_ on AAU...though he and Serena were closer than he ever imagined they could be. He had found a best friend in the woman who had done nothing but annoy him for years, as she had stood up when he faced his most difficult professional crisis to date. Oh, and Jasmine and Alex had got married in the humid summer of Florida.

He was on Skype with them, Jasmine seven and a half months pregnant, Alex ready to quit football to look after his child. "Is it a boy or a girl?" Michael asked, still not quite believing he was six weeks away from being a grandfather. Damn, it made him feel old.

"Don't know," Jasmine smiled. "We're keeping it a surprise. But we've got everything done. Nursery, clothes, pram, cot...everything. Alex even hung a spinning mobile from the ceiling," she grinned, and Alex pulled her in to kiss her dark hair. Michael loved seeing his baby girl so happy. "What do you want?" she asked her husband.

"I want a beautiful little girl who looks just like you," he replied with a gentle smile. "A perfect, beautiful baby girl. That's all I want."

"I'm coming over there once that baby's born," he warned them. "I wanna see my grandchild for myself."

"Well, bring that Serena Campbell with you," Jasmine told him. "I want to meet the woman you moaned about for years and then all of a sudden, you're the best of friends. I have a feeling Mom might like her if she managed to drive you up the wall," she smirked. She had turned into an American in her ten years there, losing her English accent, adopting the Floridian drawl instead.

_Now he's wrapped around her finger,_  
_She's the centre of his whole world._  
_And his heart belongs to that _  
_Sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect, all-American girl.  
All-American girl._

When they travelled over to Florida to meet Kathryn Shepard, he saw in Alex what he had felt himself twenty-four years ago. As Jasmine held baby Kathryn in her arms, Alex repeated the scene he had created all those years ago: he kissed his baby girl's head.

Serena whispered into Michael's ear, "That child will be the most loved little girl in America."

"I know," Michael smiled. "Just like Jasmine was the most loved little girl in whatever country her mother took her to, even though I wasn't there," he replied.

He loved this little baby as much as he loved his own daughter – with all his heart. It stung when Annalese had moved away with his children, but after a while she became more reasonable, to the point she was now sitting next to him, watching their daughter, son-in-law and grandchild as a family of their own.

"They won't end up like you and Annalese," she comforted his one worry in a whisper. "Trust me. That young man isn't going _anywhere_." As she said it, Jasmine leaned into Alex as he put his arm around her, letting his baby daughter catch his finger. She was right: Alex was devoted to his wonderful all-American girls.

* * *

**Hope this is OK!  
Please feel review to leave a review and tell me what you think of it!  
Sarah x**


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